aliens

On March 30, 2009, Matthew Reed had what he describes as an up-close extraterrestrial encounter outside of Brownsburg, Indiana. The story made him and his brother, Thomas, celebrities in the strange world of UFOlogy and exposed a decades-old family drama. But as Thom seeks out the media spotlight, and Matt shies away from it, each has arrived at the same truth: It isn’t easy to believe.

This much Matthew Reed believes: After seeing the ball of light through his windshield, and before waking up alongside a country road, he was abducted by extraterrestrials. And as implausible as that might sound, it wasn’t the first time.

From abductions and saucers to Air Force investigations and Congressional hearings, Hoosiers have claimed their share of run-ins with the unknown.

The case of former Brownsburg resident Matthew Reed—detailed in IM’s March 2014 feature “Alienated”—might presently be Indiana’s most famous extraterrestrial encounter. But it’s certainly not the first.

Those who carry on about flying saucers and abductions are often considered kooks (and let’s face it, some of them might be). But the odds of life beyond our planet are great enough to make even a skeptic wonder.